Old Man Emu vs Bilstien?
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sonerick
New member
I combined OME 885/Toytec Superflex springs with Bilstein 5100s and feel as though it rides very well. There is just about a half inch of rake. I have heard others using 885s say that the 885s felt too stiff. In my opinion its firm, but not overly stiff or harsh, especially loaded up.
I have heard people complain that the OME shocks, while great off road, feel a bit harsh on road.
I have heard people complain that the OME shocks, while great off road, feel a bit harsh on road.
I'll try to find which I have but it was a while ago and they wereon the truck when I got it. 881's come to mind but that may be wrong. I removed the XREAS and added OME shocks. It sitslevel with aftermarket front and rear bumpers with about 2.5" lift.
I have heard complaints like sonerick mentions but that's never been my experience. I used OME on my previous '88 Land Cruiser as well and loved the ride on and off road.
aha2988
New member
just throwing out my combo
started with all OME 886 and 896 coils and nitro charger shocks
swapped out the rear shocks as they didn't dampen the coil rate quite to my liking.
I now have radflo rear 2.5 shocks with ome coils and front ome struts and the ride is great considering i don't have the extra weight to preload the coils properly.
I don't consider it an issue to mix and max coils, shocks and a strut assemblies as long as your coils aren't to short for you shock travel and your shock travel isn't limiting any flex your fine.
started with all OME 886 and 896 coils and nitro charger shocks
swapped out the rear shocks as they didn't dampen the coil rate quite to my liking.
I now have radflo rear 2.5 shocks with ome coils and front ome struts and the ride is great considering i don't have the extra weight to preload the coils properly.
I don't consider it an issue to mix and max coils, shocks and a strut assemblies as long as your coils aren't to short for you shock travel and your shock travel isn't limiting any flex your fine.
wrestler157
New member
i have ome 884s with bilstein 5100s up front and then tacoma bilstein 5100s in the rear with all pro 3.5 springs no problem with mix matching with me i actually think it rides better than my xreas
nytefog
Member
I'm torn between the OME and TT Ultimate. I plan on putting on a the new ARB Deluxe Bumper and winch.
Does the OME actually give you 2 or 3" of Lift? I know the TT is adjustable but don't you preload the coil more when you increase to lift the front end higher?
If i do go with the OME what corners do i need to add trim packers? The front drivers or both fronts? Does anyone know the difference on the rear 895 and 896? Are the ride heights different between these the same?
I just really want to have no rake to the truck with the ARB bumper/winch and i do keep a couple pelican cases with tools and various items in the rear probably 150 lbs of stuff i keep all the time and probably will be more with the winch recovery gear items.
What tire size can you have with out needing to have wheel spacers is another question i'm not clear on. I like my stock limited 18" but may get a set of TRD FJ rims which i'm starting to like too much!!
I THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR HELPING ME WITH YOUR INPUT SO PLEASE PLEASE KEEP IT COMING.
Does the OME actually give you 2 or 3" of Lift? I know the TT is adjustable but don't you preload the coil more when you increase to lift the front end higher?
If i do go with the OME what corners do i need to add trim packers? The front drivers or both fronts? Does anyone know the difference on the rear 895 and 896? Are the ride heights different between these the same?
I just really want to have no rake to the truck with the ARB bumper/winch and i do keep a couple pelican cases with tools and various items in the rear probably 150 lbs of stuff i keep all the time and probably will be more with the winch recovery gear items.
What tire size can you have with out needing to have wheel spacers is another question i'm not clear on. I like my stock limited 18" but may get a set of TRD FJ rims which i'm starting to like too much!!
I THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR HELPING ME WITH YOUR INPUT SO PLEASE PLEASE KEEP IT COMING.
sonerick
New member
I got just about a full 3" with my OME 885's in the front (no trim packers), but I think that it's due to the fact that I have a V6 and the 885's are meant for the V8. Had I gone with 884's, I probably would have gotten slightly less lift, and would have installed the trim packers. (884's and 885's have the same spring rate, the 885's are just 10mm longer.)
When you crank up the coilovers that come with the TT ultimate kit, you do increase the preload on the springs (same thing with setting the Bilstein 5100's to one of the "lift" settings).
Honestly, if I had the money, I would have gotten the TT Ultimate kit. The coilovers let you fine-tune the stance. Since you are installing a bumper and winch, I would recommend going that route.
I still have the driver's side lean. Some have corrected this by installing a 1.5 inch spacer on the driver's rear coil.
In terms of tire size, I run a 255/75/17, which is a narrower tire, but I have no rubbing and I can fit a fullsize spare in the stock location. I'm not sure how wide you can go before you will start rubbing on the UCA's.
Another thing to keep in mind is your alignment. After the lift, you will have a hard time getting the *caster* back into spec. Some people have had luck doing it, others have had to get aftermarket UCA's to correct the problem. If you do get aftermarket UCA's, I believe this will also give you a little bit of extra clearance for wider tires. I ended up installing SPC/Light Racing UCA's about a week or so after I installed the lift. Handles much better now.
Hope this helps.
When you crank up the coilovers that come with the TT ultimate kit, you do increase the preload on the springs (same thing with setting the Bilstein 5100's to one of the "lift" settings).
Honestly, if I had the money, I would have gotten the TT Ultimate kit. The coilovers let you fine-tune the stance. Since you are installing a bumper and winch, I would recommend going that route.
I still have the driver's side lean. Some have corrected this by installing a 1.5 inch spacer on the driver's rear coil.
In terms of tire size, I run a 255/75/17, which is a narrower tire, but I have no rubbing and I can fit a fullsize spare in the stock location. I'm not sure how wide you can go before you will start rubbing on the UCA's.
Another thing to keep in mind is your alignment. After the lift, you will have a hard time getting the *caster* back into spec. Some people have had luck doing it, others have had to get aftermarket UCA's to correct the problem. If you do get aftermarket UCA's, I believe this will also give you a little bit of extra clearance for wider tires. I ended up installing SPC/Light Racing UCA's about a week or so after I installed the lift. Handles much better now.
Hope this helps.
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aha2988
New member
With the 896 and 886 setup your going to sit really high without any added weight. (like 4" lift in the rear and 3.5 up front without weight) you can run 33's pretty well with some minor trimming and aftermarket front UCA's (upper control arms) LR UCA's are very affordable and perform great. the 895 setup will give you more of a true 3/2-3 front/rear lift.
If you use trim packers to level the vehicle from left to right you'll put them on the driver side as that's the side you'll be leaning towards. (It seems a lot of people are using a 1.5" daystar rear spacer on the driver side rear to eliminate driver side lean after lifting.)
with the ultimate TT lift you will be able to adjust the front coilovers to eliminate most if not all of the rake if you prefer. Also the TT lift has softer spring rates and provide a smoother ride compared to the OME's I can't really say what added weight of armor and bumpers does to this setup perhaps a member running it can chime in.
hope this helps a little. and just my .02 cents don't necessarily take the cheapest route if you plan to build the truck up go ahead and buy the more expensive lift (as most likely you'll either swap lift kits later on or wish you had gone ahead and installed the lift kit you originally wanted but decided to save some money and avoid.) If I had it to do over I would have just went ahead and bought the full radflo 2.5 kit
just my pocket change.
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nytefog
Member
I've actually just contacted Radflo. What does their lift consist of? What heights do you achieve? I've inquired on the 2.5 shocks because I've heard they perform well. I'm not committed to OME or TT kits. I'm open to suggestions. I've been searching through the lift picture thread for ideas. I want to do it right once. I plan to have the UCA and any other items I need to have my suspension setup correctly. I want to make sure I should get the diff drop kit and sway bar relocation fittings. Do I need any other parts like brake lines?
aha2988
New member
the 2.5 kit consists of front adjustable extended travel coilovers (nice shit) rear extended travel shocks, and rear coils (if you contact radflo and ask for the overland warehouse spec kit) If not then I'm not certain radflo puts coils with there rear shocks. If radflo doesn't offer rear coils the all pro 3.5in coils for the FJ will match the setup perfectly.
the front coils overs are setup to hold the weight of a bumper, winch, and dual battery setup. So when there set at zero with no weight your at about 3" up front worth of lift then you can crank them up from there as you add weight. The radflo kit is designed to maximize the travel of your suppension as well as lift capabilities.
the front brake lines are fine, the rear however you will need to either get extend brake lines (which involves bleeding your brakes) or you can make a small bracket that drops the flexible section of the rear brake lines down and towards the axle more (overland warehouse used to send a bracket with there kit so I can get you dimensions of the bracket if you need it) All that involves is unbolting a factory bracket and putting this bracket in place then stretch out some of the coiled up hard plumbed brake line to allow proper location of the brake lines. Also you want to look at bump stop extensions(metal tech I believe has some), as well as rear sway bar extended links.(Theres a member on the Toyota120.com forum that makes and sells these I can get you into contact with if/when your interested.) and ofcourse the front LR UCA's
If your planning to off-road your truck just loose the front sway bar you won't need it with the stiffer spring rate of the new front lift coils. If your going for a trophy truck for the road you can pick up the swaybar relocating brackets.
dont waste your money on the diff drop its unnecessary unless you've exceeded a 3" lift up front just note that if you have many miles on your CV axles it's likely that when you lift the boots may tear quickly or squirt grease out, you can rebuild these which new boots, greese, and clamps. or purchase new CV half shafts from rockauto.com for about 65 bucks new (keeping your old ones for trail spares instead of core charges)
and when you get all that stuff on and run some big 33's or 35's(with a body lift added) you'll have gears and lockers and all that fun stuff to get into yes it can become: :jaw:
The ome 885/895 setup is nice. I ran the springs with both bilstein & OME. The ride of the bilstein was softer than the OME dampers. Both were great but some will prefer the slightly softer valving of the bilstein.
I moved on to Fox 8-way adjustable now which is the best of both worlds.
I moved on to Fox 8-way adjustable now which is the best of both worlds.
talonjade
New member
thanks Aha2988!
Yep and that confirms it...I will probably hold out for the Radflo 2.5 coils(OW valving) kit with LR UCA and 3.5 all pro rear springs with radflo (long travel 2.0/2.5) rear piggy backs...:tea:
its taken a long time but I think from what I have seen and heard here this setup provides the best mix of on and off road performance/ easy to setup for the newbie/ and relatively well priced (thinking Icon kits)
there are still many choices (fox shox/ icon/ king/ even walker Etc. that there maybe room for a little improvement. but on the whole without getting too heavy with custom pan hard bars and alterations to suspension components I feel confident this is one of the best setups a 4gen can have. Feel free to disagree or add your opinion/ personal experience.
-Get busy!
Yep and that confirms it...I will probably hold out for the Radflo 2.5 coils(OW valving) kit with LR UCA and 3.5 all pro rear springs with radflo (long travel 2.0/2.5) rear piggy backs...:tea:
its taken a long time but I think from what I have seen and heard here this setup provides the best mix of on and off road performance/ easy to setup for the newbie/ and relatively well priced (thinking Icon kits)
there are still many choices (fox shox/ icon/ king/ even walker Etc. that there maybe room for a little improvement. but on the whole without getting too heavy with custom pan hard bars and alterations to suspension components I feel confident this is one of the best setups a 4gen can have. Feel free to disagree or add your opinion/ personal experience.
-Get busy!
nytefog
Member
I've gotten prices from Radflo and wanted to see if they sounded right to you. Front 2.5 coil overs 1134. Rear 2" coils 240 and 300 per 2.5 shock. If I wanted remote Reservoirs it be close to 350 more all together. Radflo said this was the ow setup.
What are the 3.5 coils you are referring to who makes them and sells them? Will they lift the rear 3+ inches?
Is the Radflo kit a 2" lift kit? Hat was for the 2.5 shock body.
aha2988
New member
Its a 3" front 2" rear lift level setup (I would assume the vehicle to sit higher than this without the proper weight to preload the coils but I'm not 100% certain. obviously the front will sit at what height you set the coil-overs at.)
https://www.allprooffroad.com/fjrearsuspension/45
these are the allpro coils i was speaking of, the 3.5" coils is 3.5" of lift; however, once weight is added such as rear bumper, tire carrier, recovery gear , camping supplies, luggage is added your about 2-2.5" of lift.
unfortunately I don't know much about the radflo rear coils with OW's setup. Like if there spring rate is large enough to account for wait thus leaving you with a 2" lift after loaded or If its a 2" lift before wait is added.
the prices of the shocks and coilovers seam legit, I've seen them more expensive though. Double check to make sure there talking about the Extended travel kit as there is a 2.5 coilover kit and a 2.5 extended travel coil over kit.
nytefog
Member
The extended shocks are the same price. Would it be worth getting the extended shocks?
I have 650's (fox dampers) but if I was going do a bumper, winch, full armor and everything I would probably go 700. The high-end dampers like radflo make a world of difference with these heavier spring rates.
